Growth patterns of influenza virus in cultures of ferret organs

Abstract

In ferret organ culture, influenza virus infection followed the pattern in vivo (Basarab and Smith, 1969) for nasal mucosa, lung, trachea, oesophagus and aorta; virus grew in the first 3, particularly well in nasal mucosa, but did not grow in oesophagus and aorta. Unexpectedly, bladder and oviduct which were not infected in the original experiments in vivo supported virus growth in organ culture. Direct injection of virus into the bladder or oviducts of ferrets resulted in local infection. The parallel between infection in vivo and virus growth patterns in organ cultures proves the feasibility of the latter for studying factors influencing tissue specificity of influenza virus.